Jota bares all with Celtic confession and surprising Saudi stance as Rennes reveal cunning trick used to land winger
New recruit Jota reckons he won't face the same expectations at Rennes as he did at Celtic after drawing a line under his nightmare spell in the Saudi Pro League.
The Portuguese winger is set to make his debut against Montpellier sealing an £8million move from Al-Ittihad - just 12 months on from leaving the Scottish Premiership behind in a blockbuster £25million move to the Middle East. The forward insists he has battled back to full fitness despite barely featuring for Ittihad during his year in Saudi Arabia - and declared he had no regrets over his decision to leave Glasgow's east end for the mega-money move.
However, Jota admits he doesn't expect his new club to have the same success that Celtic will, stating: "I'd like to help everyone so that the team performs as well as possible. But I don't have the same expectations here as I did with Celtic. Whatever happens will happen, but I just want to be the best version of myself, achieve the club's goals and bring a lot of joy to the fans.
"As with any job or any situation, things don't always go in the right direction. That's life, that's the way it is. I'm at peace with what happened in Saudi Arabia, I'm myself. Life goes on, I just have to be myself, be happy. It was probably one of the years when I learned the most. No, I have no regrets. I'm proud of everything I've done, it's made me the person I am today. If I hadn't done that, I might not be here.
"A number of things attracted me to Rennes. Firstly, I think that any player would want to play in one of the five top leagues in Europe. And secondly, the club's project itself. I think it's is a great club to progress at. There's a lot of talent, the atmosphere is good and the facilities are good too. There are very good foundations here for improving and performing against the best."
Rennes Sporting director Frederic Massara revealed that he phoned Jota's agent THREE TIMES a day to get the deal over the line before the close of the window. Speaking to L’Equipe, he said: “It is a market opportunity. A club changes its mind, the player does not thrive as much as he hoped and the opportunity arises. We too were a bit surprised.
"We tell ourselves he’s too expensive or that his wages are too high, but that was quite the contrary. It was cheaper because the club needed to free up spots in their squad.
“Perhaps he was already quite satisfied with what he had earned. When we had the opportunity to get in touch with him, we had to consider the risks the transfer could not go through. I called his agent three times a day."